Screw-cap wrench



A. STOCKLAN'D.

SCREW CAP WRENCH.

APPLICATION min ocT. 19, 1920.

Patented Nov. 8, 1921.

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AW Y 5 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.l

SCREW-CAP WRENCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 8, 1921.

Application led October 19. 1920. Serial No. 417.861.

T 0 allee/1,0m t may concern.'

Be it lrnown that l, ARTHUR STOCKLAND, a citizen of the United States, residing at Minneapolis, in the county of Hennepin and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Screw-Cap lVrenches, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to screw cap wrenches, and an object is to provide a device of this character which may be used for applying and removing screw caps from jars and cans without injury to the cap and which, on the contrary, will tend to restore used and damaged caps to serviceable condition so that they may be used repeatedly. Another object is to provide a device of this character which will insure a perfect seal of the cap regardless of whether it is a new or old cap.

The full objects and advantages of my invention will appear in connection with the detailed description thereof, and the novel features embodied in my inventive idea will be particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate the application of my invention in one form,`

Figure 1 is a plan view of my device as it appears when placed upon a screw cap and before the handle members are gripped. Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but showing the device in the position which it assumes when the handle members have been gripped. Fig. 3 is a view showing a jar in side elevation, and showing in vertical section the screw cap and my device applied. Fig. 4 is a view in side elevation showing the device in use for beading or smoothing down the lower flange of the cap. Fig. 5 is a side elevational view 0f the clamping head of the device. viewed from the other side with relation to that shown in Fig. 4.

Referring to the particular construction shown in the drawings, the numeral 10 designates a curved clamping head which is provided with a ridge 11 for engaging the customary circular groove near the top of a screw cap by means of which the porcelain lining is held in place. Upon the clamping head 10 is a beading or smoothing member 12 which, when in use, extends downwardly to engage the lower fiange of the cap, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. Rigid with the clamping head 10 and extending outwardly therefrom is a handle member 14,

another handle member 16 is pivoted to the clamping head at 18, and this handle member is provided with an off-set arm 20, the member 16 and the arm 20 constituting in effect a bell-crank lever. A U-shaped gripping member 22, preferably formed from rodlike material has its ends bent, one of these ends being attached at 24 to the handle member 14 adjacent a raised shoulder portion 25 on the clamping head 10. The other end of the U-member 22 is attached at 26 t0 the free end of the arm 20. The handle member 14 and the arm 2O are provided with apertures to receive the bent ends of the U-member 22.

The operation and advantages of my invention will be understood from the foregoing description. lVhen used for tightening a screw cap, the device is applied as shown in Fig. 1 so that the U-member 22 and the ridge 11 fit into the circular groove near the top of the cap. Upon gripping the two handle members, they are caused to move toward each other, and the U-member 22 is contracted as shown in Fig. 2 by the action of the pivoted member 16 and its attached arm 2() which pulls upon the U-member at this end. The other end of the U-member comes into contact with the shoulder 25 and is held in fixed position while the ridge 11 Aswings so as to fit snugly into the groove at the top of the cap. Upon imparting turning movement to the handle members conjointly the cap may be screwed firmly in place upon the jar or can. When this has been accomplished. the force with which the handle members 14 and 16 are gripped is somewhat relaxed so that the device may be rotated relatively to the jar and its cap. By applying downward pressure upon the handle members at this time, the lower flange on the cap is smoothed and beaded so at to fit tightly all the way around upon the usual packing ring or rubber. Any raised portions. such. as shown in Fig. 4 at a and b which may be produced in removing the cap when previously used, will be smoothed down and a perfect seal is thus insured even though the lower flange of the cap is in a battered and uneven condition. Furthermore, it will be apparent from Fig 3 that when pressure is applied by the U-member 22 and the ridge 11 to the circular groove which is below the porcelain lining, the metal which forms this groove will be forced inward with the result that the porcelain lining will be held securely in place and will not drop out when the cap is removed. Screw caps may thus be employed over and over when the jars are filled from time to time, and the beading and smoothing action of the member' 12 will cause a perfect seal to be made. Vhen it is desiredto remove a cap, the device may be applied the other side up from that shown in Figs. l and 3, since the beading or smoothing member 12 is not then brought into action.

I claim:

l. A screw cap wrench comprising a clamping head, a handle member rigid with and extending outwardly from said clamping head, a second handle member pivoted to said clamping head and extending outwardly therefrom, a U-shaped gripping member adapted at one of its ends to be iixedly held with relation to said clamping head and having its other end attached to said pivoted handle member, and a beading member mounted on said clamping head.

2. A screw cap wrench comprising a clamping head, a handle member rigid with and extending outwardly from .said clamping head, a second handle member pivoted at its inner end to said clamping headand extending outwardly therefrom, an off-set arm on the inner arm of said pivoted handle member, a U-shaped gripping member attached at one oi' its ends to said rigid handle member and having its other end attached to said off-set arm, and a beading member integral with said clamping head and positioned between the respective places oi attachment or' said handle members to said clamping head.

3. A screw cap wrench comprising a clamping head, a curved ridge on said clamping head adapted to engage the usual Circular groove near the top of a screw cap, a handle member rigid with and extending outwardly from said clamping head, a second handle member pivoted at its inner end to said clamping head and extending outwardly therefrom, and a U-shaped grip- Aning member attached at one of its ends to said rigid handle member and having its other end attached to said pivoted handle member, the disposition of said handles being such as to cause said clamping head to grip the screw cap with varying degrees of force whereby the screw cap may be turned or said ridge may be moved around in said circular groove to further depress the same as'desired.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aHiX my signature. v

ARTHUR STOGKLAND.` 

